MISSIONIMPOSSIBLEFROMFATHERTOSON,there

isstillnosatisfactorysolutiontoretirement,housing
andeducation...

[Idonttradeinpeoplesmiseries.Mybusinessisthe
peopleshappiness.]#1

InaspeechintheFederalParliamentin27May1965,
justbeforeSingaporesindependence,Singaporefirst
primeministermadetheabovespeechandchampioned
foraMalaysianMalaysia.Lookingbackinhistory,havewe
narrowedtheconceptofthefailedMalaysianMalaysia
intoaSingaporeanSingapore?Haveweevertradedin
peoplesmiseries?

49yearslater,wearestilldiscussingtheproblemsof
miseriesandhappiness.Westilltrytofindananswerfor
CPFretirement,healthcare,housing,educationand
servicestothepeopledespiteourhugeeconomic
achievement.Weareafirstworldcountryinsearchfora
satisfactorybalancebetweenmiseriesandhappiness.

NationalDayRally2014provesthataftermorethan50
yearsofhardwork,ourmissionofnationbuildingandthe
promiseofbetterlifeisstillalongshot.Infact,itlooks
morelikeanimpossiblemissionasthegovernmentisstill
talkingaboutbasicCPFproblems,educationandservices
tothepeople.

Fromthefirstprimeministertothethirdprimeminister,
CPFdespitebecomingbiggerandbiggerstillremainsan
unsatisfactoryanswerforretirement,medicalcareand
housing.Despitemoreeducationopportunities,better
internationaluniversityranking,andadvancedtechnology
forcivilservice,thePAPgovernmentisstillinthe
dilemmaofbalancingpeoplesmiseriesandhappiness.
Why?

Arethereanystatisticscomparingthemiseriesand
happinessthenandnow?

Thesecondprimeministerdidnotanswerthequestion
directly.However,heconfirmedtheissueofmiseriesand
happinessandworriedaboutthegapbetweenthepeople
andthePAP.

[Looseningtiesbetweenpeopleandgovernmentcouldpull
SingaporeapartunlessSingaporeansdemandasmuchof
themselvesastheydooftheGovernment,Emeritus
SeniorMinisterGohChokTongwarnedonSaturday.
Unrealisticdemandsandfrequentcriticismofthe
Governmentarestrainingthecohesivenessofthe
Singaporefamily,hesaid.]#2
ESMGohseemstolinkthemiseriestounrealistic
demandsandfrequentcriticism.Onthecontrary,happy
peoplehaverealisticdemandsandpraisethePAP
government.

Missionimpossibleorsmallstreamforever

InhisMandarinspeech,PMLeesangabitofthefamous
Xinyaosongsmallstreamthatflowsforever.Thereisa
businessandmanagementpracticeofcontrollingthe
market.Ifyousolvetheproblemsorprovidethebest
solutionsinonego,youendupmakinglessprofit.Thisis
whyagoodproductlikeApplecancontinuetomake
profitafterApple3,4,4S,5.orMicrosoftafterher
manyseriesofWindows.

Perhaps,thePAPisthinkingthesamewayastheyarea
goodbrandandofferagoodproduct.Solvingproblemsin
onegowillnotmaximizetheirelectionwinning
opportunities.Bytacticallypositionsthemiseriesand
happiness,theycanprofitfromtheimbalance.So,the
PAPwantstokeepthesmallstreamflowingforever.

Inthiscase,thePAPistradingpeoplesmiseriesaswell
aspeopleshappiness.Wecannotdenytherearepeople
reallyhappyaboutthePAPspoliciesofCPF,housing
andeducation.Somearereallyhappyastheycantake
awayalltheirCPFmoney,capitalgainsfromhousingand
educationiftheyquiteSingaporeattherighttimeright
place.

Astream,atradeoff,abusinesstotrademiseriesand
happinessalwaysexistsunderthePAPgovernment.They
arehappilymanipulatingandcontrollingthesituation.
Theythinktheycanforevermakethestreambigger(up
theminimumsum)orsmaller(smalllumpsum
withdrawal),simple(Medisave)orcomplicated
(Medishield),decentralise(e.gtowncouncils)or
centralise(newmunicipalservices).

InNDR2014,thePAPgovernmentishonouringpioneer
generation,honouringthefirstpresidentoftheRepublic,
relaxingtheCPFlumpsumwithdrawalandincreasingthe
minimumsum,evenshiftingculturalvalues.Thislooks
morelikeabusinessdeal.Aretheytradingpeoples
miseriesandhappinessforatrulySingaporean
Singapore?

Tostopthetradingbetweenmiseriesandhappiness,
powertothepeopleistheanswer.Honouringour
pioneers,returningthebasicconceptofCPF,and
Singaporeanculturearenottradable.Longbeforeour
independence,weknowthesearenontradable.
However,whenSingaporeconcentratesmoreandmore
oneconomicgrowth,thePAPmaximizes,ratherthan
minimizes,thedifferencebetweenpeoplesmiseriesand
happiness.

Tradingpeoplesmiseriesandhappinesshasbecomethe
businessofthePAP.Bymakingthebusinessproblems
intoastream,thePAPwantstocapitaliseitforever.Cana
SingaporeanSingaporestopthem?

#1
http://drm.a2o.nas.sg/DJVUServer/PdfStampServlet?app=stars&filepath=pdfdoc/lky19650
527.pdf

#2
http://www.singapolitics.sg/news/looseningtiesbetweenpeopleandgovernmentworrying
esm